Tape applying and cutting mechanism



P 1957 c. w. VOGT 2,805,714

TAPE APPLYING AND CUTTING MECHANISM Filed Dec. 4, 1955 v I 2Sheets-Sheet l INVENTOR. CLARENCE I14 V067 BY lg ATTORNEYS.

Sept. 10, 1957 c. w. VOGT 2,805,714

TAPE APPLYING AND CUTTING MECHANISM Filed Dec. 4, 1955 2 sheets-Sheet 2JNVENTOR. 'CLA/FENCA h/ V0 1- United States. Patent 9 TAPE APPLYING ANDCUTTING MECHANISM Clarence W. Vogt, Norwalk, Conn.

Application December 4, 1953, Serial N 0. 396,144

3 Claims. (Cl. 164-58) This invention relates to devices for applyingadhesive tapes to desired surfaces and particularly to devices of thischaracter wherein the tape is supplied from a, roll carried by or withinthe device and maintained in such fashion that :a free end of tape willbe available to facilitate the starting of a tape-applying operationwhen and as desired.

In applicants :copending applications Serial No. 353,339, filed May 6,1953, now Patent No. 2,722,330, dated November 1, 1955; SerialNo.366,958, filedJuly 9, 1953, now Patent No. 2,728,476, dated December27, 1955; and Serial No. 372,957, filed August 7, 1953, now .abandonedrespectively, there are shown and described devices by means of whichadhesive tape in roll form may be maintained in such fashion that itwill be available for convenient tape-applying operations, and thepresent invention embodies apparatus generally similar to those shownand described in the co-pending applications abovementioned but whereinimportant improvements have been made and as a result of whichsubstantial advantages accrue in the manufacture and use oftape-applying apparatus of the above general nature.

As will be well understood by those familiar with this art, it is notonly a broad disideratum that the adhesive tape material in roll formshould be available for ready application to a desired surface withoutrequiring the use of two hands to perform the operation, but equallyimportant is the need for effectively cutting or severing the tapematerial after a desired quantity has been dispensed from the applyingmechanism, this cutting operation being one that should not onlyeffectively sever the tape material, but also should be free of anymotion that would cause abrasion or marring of the surface upon whichthe tape has been applied.

Another important aspect of these operations is the desirability ofanchoring the free end of the tape material lying between the roll andthe surface to which previously fed tape material has been applied inorder that, when severed, this free end will not return into the holderwhere it will be difficult to obtain for a subsequent taping operation.In other words, the free end of the tape should be held in such fashionthat it will be readily available for use when a subsequent tapingoperation is desired.

The present invention has been designed to provide devices of the abovecharacter wherein the severing operation of the tape may be accomplishedin such fashion as to form a desired shape of out across the width ofthe tape band, as well as to provide a suitable housing or enclosure forthe roll of tape that will not only be inexpensive to manufacture butwill enclose the tape against contamination from dust and similarinfluences and, in addition to the above objects, a further object ofthe invention is to provide an improved form of snubbing or anchoringmechanism by means of which the tape material may be effectively held sothat there will always be an exposed end of tape ready for applicationto a desired surface.

' Another object of the invention is to provide a device of the abovecharacter wherein improved mechanism is embodied for elfectingpositively a desired form of cut in order to sever the tape.

to be formed is held effectively under tension in order that a desiredcut may be assured.

Other objects will be apparent as the invention is described in greaterdetail in connection with the accompanying drawings, wherein:

Fig. 1 is a view in elevation, somewhat in perspective and showing atape-applying mechanism constructed in accordance with the presentinvention;

Fig. 2 is a view in side elevation, partly broken away in order to showdetails of the tape-snubbing mechanism, this view showing the structureof Fig. l in somewhat enlarged form;

Fig. 3 is a view in vertical section, taken on the plane indicated bythe line 3-3 of Fig. 2, and looking in the direction of the arrows;

Fig. 4 is a fragmental View in cross-section, taken on the planeindicated by the line 44 of Fig. 2, and looking in the direction of thearrows;

Fig. 5 is a fragmental view in transverse section, taken on the planeindicated by the line 5-5 of Fig. 2, and looking in the direction of thearrows;

Fig. 6 is a fragmental view in vertical section of the device of Fig. 2,illustrating the manner in which the tape is applied to a desiredsurface;

Fig. 7 is a view similar to Fig. 6, illustrating the manner in which thetape is severed after it has been applied to asurface;

Fig. 8 is a plan view showing the tape applicator head of the structureshown in Figs. 1 to 7, this view illustrating the cutting mechanism aswell as the snubbing element; V

Fig. 9 is a view in transverse section, taken on the line 9-9 of Fig. 8,and looking in the direction of the arrows;

Fig. 10 is a view in transverse section, taken on the line indicated bythe line 10-10 of Fig. 8, and looking in the direction of the arrows;

Fig. 11 is a detail view showing the cutting blade carried by theapplicator head illustrated in Figs. 8 and 9;

Fig. 12 is an enlarged view in section, taken on the line 12-12 of Fig.11, showing the formation of a portion of the cutting blade of Fig. 11;

Fig. 13 is an enlarged plan view of the end of the applicator head ofFig. 8 and illustrating the cutting mechanism in greater detail;

Fig. 14 is a view in end elevation showing the cutting mechanism of Fig.13; and

Fig. 15 is a view in longitudinal section, taken on the plane indicatedby the line 15-15 of Fig. 13 and looking in the direction of the arrows.

Referring to the above drawings, a tape-applying device is illustratedas being formed with a housing indicated generally at 20, this housingpreferably being formed of molded plastic material having a side wall 21and an outer curved wall 22, a hollow sleeve 23 being formed centrallyof the side wall 21. The sleeve 23 thus serves as a support for the core24 of a roll 'of tape material 25. The exposed side of the housing isclosed by a side or cover plate 26 that may be flanged at 27 to overliethe end wall 22 and recessed at 28 in order that the adjacent innerperiphery 29 may be flanged over or upset upon an inner rib 30 formed onthe sleeve 23. In this fashion, the cover 26 effectively encloses thetape material received within the housing.

The side walls of the housing may be formed with feet 31 and 32 in orderthat the apparatus may stand in a desired position when at rest.

Patented Sept. 10,- 1957 35, the lower end of which is formed with anotched extremity 36 having a cam face 37. Spaced from the downwardlyextending arm 35 and formed upon the material of the side wall 21 is aplate 38, the upper extremity of which forms a snubbing surface 39.. Anopening 40is formed in the end wall 22and, adacent the opening 49, theend wall is formed witha shoulder or supporting lug 41 upon which anapplicator tongue may bemounted.

Referring particularly to Figs. 6, 7, 8 and 9, the apparatus will beseen to include an applicator tongue shown in plan view in Fig. 8, thistongue including a flexible tongue member 42 formed with an offsetportion 43 and an extension 44 (having an edge44 formed thereon) uponwhich an applicator head 45 is mounted. The tongue member has formedtherein at the end remote from the applicator head a boss 46 that isgrooved at 47 and notched at 48 in order to interengage and be securedto the lug 41. v

An auxiliary tongue 49 is formed on the boss 46 and extends generallyparallel to the tongue 42, terminating in a sloping face 50 that isadapted to be engaged by the came face 37, as illustrated in Fig. 7.

, At the outer end of the applicator head 45, there are formed spacedguards 51 and 52, between which a cutting element 53 is secured. As willbe illustrated in Fig. 8, the guards 51 and 52 extend beyond the lowerextremity (as viewed in Fig. 8) of the cutting element 53, thus toinsure that the cutting element will not touch the surface upon whichtape is being applied.

An important aspect of this invention lies in the formation of thecutting element which will now be described. As illustrated in. Figs. 11to inclusive, the cutting element 53 comprises a strip of suitablematerial such, for example, as steel, of generally chevron form. Thelower edges 54 may be serrated in order to provide a more effectivecutting element and, at the intersection of the two sides of the cuttingelement, there is provided a raised protuberance 55 in order to form apoint of localized stress, thus more effectively to pierce the tape atthis point. From an inspection of Fig. 14, it will be seen that theportions 54 of the cutting member 53 thus form a dihedral angle, theprotuberance 55 lying substantially in the line of intersection of theplanes of the two sides 54 forming such angle. The material of theapplicator head 45 may be molded in such fashion as to serve as abacking-up portion 56 to strengthen the cutting member. This isillustrated in Fig. 15. A portion 56' of the material of the head 45overlies the cutting member 53 and is formed with sloping edges 56" thatpermit the positioning of the tape material in such fashion that asubstantially straight and transverse cut is formed. This is becauseeach of the points of the transverse cut lie equidistant from atransverse plane across the tape rearwardly of the line of cut.

An important aspect of the invention also lies in the shape of thecutting blade in relation to the other structure of the device and as aresult of which a substantially straight cut is formed across the tapetransversely of the length of the tape. This is true because the are ofmovement of the tongue during the cutting is such that every point ofthe cutting edge, as it engages the tape, lies generally upon the sameradius extending from the point of support of the tongue 42; 3 In thisfashion, a cutting member is provided that forms a point of accentuatedlocalized stress at the initiation ofthe cutting operation.

The device will be seen to operate in the following fashion. Referringto Fig. 6, there is illustrated tape being fed from the roll and drawnunder the applicator head 45 in order that it may be applied to adesired surface 57. As it is applied, the tape is drawn from the roll bymoving the holder or housing 20 to the right, as viewed in Fig. 6. Whena desired length of tape has been applied to the surface 57, the tapeholder is rotated in a counter-clockwise direction, as viewed in Fig. 7,until the nose 33 presses upon the tape that lies upon the surface 57.Downward pressure of the holder at this point causes the cam face 37 toengage the sloping face of the auxiliary tongue 49 and forces theauxiliary tongue against the snubbing surface 39 of the plate 38. Inthis fashion, the tape is firmly held against further movement and,simultaneously, the notched extension 36 releases the edge 44' to permitthe applicator head 45 to snap outwardly in the direction of the arrowillustrated in Fi g. 7.

It is to be observedthat, prior to release of the applicator head 45,the tape is secured against the surface 57 by means of the nose 33 andagainst the surface 39 by means of the auxiliary tongue 49. The tape isthus maintained in tension and, as soon as the protuberance strikes thetape, the localized point of stress causes the tape to be pierced andthe cutting operation initiated.

In this connection, it is to be observed that the edges 45, 45" serve tosupport the lateral sides of. the tape while the tape is being severed,and this serves to hold the tape in such position that the protuberance55 will readily penetrate the tape and start the cut. In other words,the edges 45, 45", which lie transversely of the length of the tape andarepositioned upon opposite sides of the intersecting planes of thecutting edges, serve to support the tape in such'fashion that its sidesmay not fold downwardly about its longitudinal axis and thus envelopethe protuberance and adjacent sides of the cutting edges, but rather areheld so that the protuberance will penetrate the tape and initiate thecutting operation.

It will be seen that there is only a relatively limited length of tapebetween the nose 33 and the surface 39, thus reducing any tendency ofthe tape to stretch to a minimum and insuring a speedy and effectivecutting operation. By thus reducing the area of contact of the tapebefore piercing it, the tension required to exist in the tape iscorrespondingly reduced, and an effective cutting operation is assured.

As will be seen from Fig. 2, the ofiset portion 43 deflects the free endof the tape 58 downwardly when the device is not in use, thus serving toprotect the adhesive against accidental contact. Also as illustrated inFig. 2, when the device is packaged for distribution and sale, the freeend of the tape 58 may be swung in a clockwise direction (as viewed inFig. 2) so that it will adhere to the end portions of the housing andcover the opening 40,

- thus substantially totally enclosing the tape material within theholder.

I claim:

1. A tape cutting mechanism comprising a cutting element having a pairof substantially fiat blade portions disposed in intersecting inclinedplanes, said blade portions being united along an apex edge extendinglengthwise of said cutting element, each of said blade portions having acutting edge thereon in the plane of the cor responding blade portion,said cutting edges converging outwardly and intersecting at a point onsaid apex edge to form a pointed end on said cutting element.

2. A tape cutting mechanism comprising a cutting element having cuttingedges converging outwardly to form a point atone end of said cuttingelement, said cutting element having a pair of blade portions disposedin planes inclined relative to each other and intersecting substantiallyat said point, each of said blade portions having one of said convergingcutting edges thereon, and a protuberance formed on the element at theintersection of the cutting edges.

3. A tape cutting mechanism comprising a cutting element formed withcutting edges lying in non-parallel planes which intersect intermediatethe ends of the cutting element, said element being provided with a tapesupporting edge over which the tape moves, said edge having portionslying substantially transverse to the length of the tape and uponopposite sides of the intersecting planes of the cutting edges.

(References on following page) References Cited in the file of thispatent UNITED STATES PATENTS McGuffie Dec. 9, 1873 Fowler Aug. 2, 1881Lewis Oct. 25, 1932 Hearing Jan. 1, 1935 6 Cummins Aug. 14, 1945 BrightOct. 30, 1945 Thompson Aug. 1, 1950 Fritzinger Jan. 22, 1952 Taylor Jan.'29, 1954

